Chuck Holst wrote: > > << I tried unsuccessfully to find the newsletter article I read a few years > back about the roof rack with four kayaks on it that slid off the roof > of a > car. Given the reputed toughness of plastic the occupants we surprised > that > even though it was one of the middle kayaks on the rack it was the > plastic > kayak that shattered and the fiberglass kayaks suffered either only > minor > easy to repair damage or some scuffs. If I recall correctly the plastic > kayak was way beyond repair and offered in the newsletter to anyone who > might want it for use as a planter. > Some of my customers had a simialr experience. >> > > I think it was Bill Newman who once told me about a similar incident > during the winter. Bill? > I think polyethylene does get brittle in the cold. The probably reason the kayak in the story above broke is that although plastic is plastic (ie, malleable), it becomes less so as it ages, particularly if stored in sunlight, due to the UV effects. I cracked a WW boat on a fairly benign Class I-II river, and once cracked, most plastic is not easily repairable. If it's brittle enough to crack, it's going to be hard to weld, and only certain types of plastic can be welded, anyhow. OTOH, I have dropped plastic boats off car roofs before with no ill effects. If I ever drop a glass boat off a roof, emergency responses will be necessary, either because the owner has had a heart attack, or because he has come after me with a river knife. The boat may well survive the attack, though. Steve *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Mon Dec 06 1999 - 08:33:18 PST
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